Genre- type of play

1. Genre- type of play • Tragedy- 5th c. BC hero larger than life, gains moral victory but suffers physical defeat; he has tragic flaw that participates in his own downfall • Comedy: deals with light and amusing themes, a farce has wildly active, trivial theme, a satire uses ridicule and irony

4. Genre- type of play • Tragicomedy- mixed form with no happy ending, but at least catastrophe is avoided • Melodrama- characterized by stereotyped characters, implausible plots, and an emphasis on spectacle- the forces of good and evil battling in exaggerated circumstances

6. The Play • Plot- structure of the play, the framework on which all the other elements hang, how the play moves through time from one event to the next • Point of attack- where the playwright takes up the story, if set in chronological order, little exposition is needed

7. How It’s Put Together • Exposition- necessary background information through which the playwright introduces the characters; can be delivered in the form of dialogue, narration, setting, lighting, or costume; often at the beginning

11. How It’s Put Together • Complication- frustrates the expected course of events, keeps audience interested • Inciting incident- in the complication, an action or decision that upsets the current state of affairs

14. How It’s Put Together • Foreshadowing- prepares the audience for subsequent action, gives credibility for future action, and moves the play forward by pointing to events that will occur later • Discovery- revelation of information about characters, relationships, and feelings

16. Reversal • Reversal –a sudden turn of fortune

18. Reversal • In comedy it often changes the roles of the social classes

23. How It Ends • Climax- the ultimate crisis, the dynamics of the play rise in intensity until this moment • Denouement- the final resolution, material following the crisis, the intensity lessons to the end of the action

25. The Actors • Script- dialogue of actors, language & tone • Character- the psychological motivation of the persons in play; shows how persons with specific character motivations react to the circumstances in which they find themselves • Protagonist- central personage, which is not always clear, it depends upon whom the director chooses to focus. We journey through the workings of the play by the actions and decisions of the protagonist.

26. Actor’s portrayal of the role • The Actor: the main channel of communication between the playwright and the audience. The actor’s portrayal of a role that enhance our response and understanding are two-fold: • (1) speech, words written by playwright, manner in which the lines are delivered • (2) physical reinforcement of the character’s motivation • The consistency of the motivations drives the decisions and actions of the actor

29. Theme • Theme-the ideas that comprise the intellectual content of the play; not necessarily the plot, which is what the play is about, but the thought behind the play which is for us to discover and develop • There are three aspects of this a) The playwright’s idea, b) The interpretation of the director & his decisions c) The audience’s perception

31. Visual Elements: Types of Theatres • The theatre provides aesthetic distance, our response is shaped by the design of the space in which the play is produced • Arena : audience on all sides • Thrust: audience on three sides • Proscenium : audience views play through a frame

35. Visual Elements- Scene Design • Scene design (stage setting)- creates an environment conducive to the production’s ends • Tools of composition are used- line, form, mass, color, repetition, and unity- but scene design sculpts in 3-D space • Scene designer limited by the stage space, concepts of the director, & the abilities of the staff available to execute the design

39. Visual Elements- Lighting Design • Lighting design- reinforces the dramatic structure and dynamics of the play by working with light and shade; without shadows and highlights the human face and body become imperceptible • The lighting designer works to sculpt with light and shadows; they must enhance the color of a costume, accent the physique of an actor and reinforce the plasticity of a setting

42. Visual Elements-Costume Design Stage Costuming- costume designers work with the entire body of the actor including hair styles and makeup to suit a specific purpose -stage costuming has three functions: • accents which actors are the most important & their relationships • reflects particular era, time of day, climate, season, or location • reveals the style of the performance, the characters of the personages, the personages’ social position, profession, cleanliness, age, physique, and health

46. Properties-Set Props • Set props- these are part of the scene design, such as furniture, pictures, rugs, fireplace accessories, etc. • They identify the mood of the play and the character of those who inhabit the set • Properties can be significant to our understanding of a play- if all is neat and in order as the curtain opens, but as the play develops the actors disrupt the properties, that transition can help illustrate what may have happened

49. Properties-Hand props • Hand props- used by the actors to help portray characters, such as cigarettes, papers, glasses • Whatever an actor carries on and off stage • If the actor carries it, it’s a prop, if the actor wears it, it’s a costume